8 deaths, 346 fresh infections push J&K tally to 11,173

Prominent political leader and 39 prisoners test positive; agriculture officer among 8 fatalities.

Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday recorded eight Covid-19 deaths, while 346 persons tested positive for the disease, taking the total number of cases in the region to 11,173, officials said.

There were 4,755 active cases in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. (Representational photo)

Of the new cases, 290 are from Kashmir and 56 from Jammu division. Among these, 46 patients have a travel history.

As many as 39 prisoners tested positive at district jail in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, creating panic among the inmates, their families as well as the officials. Earlier, five jail mates had tested positive there.

“44 inmates of Anantnag jail have tested positive till now,” the district’s deputy commissioner Kuldeep Singh Sidha told HT. “We will be ascertaining how the infection hit the jail. Firstly, we are enhancing testing here,” he said.

In Jammu, BJP state president Ravinder Raina and 18 workers of a soft drink company based in Bari Brahmana of Samba district were among those who were declared infected on Tuesday.

Among the eight persons who succumbed to the disease, seven were from Kashmir while one who died in Jammu was a 47-year-old agriculture officer. Following his death, Directorate of Agriculture, Directorate of Animal Husbandry and other offices situated in Jammu’s Talab Tillo area were sealed.

With this, the death toll in the UT has risen to 195 —177 fatalities in Kashmir and 18 in Jammu division till date.

The UT, particularly Kashmir valley, is witnessing an increase in the death toll and daily new cases for the past one month. In the past fortnight, 94 persons have died while 3,676 new cases emerged.

Kashmir divisional commissioner Pandurang K Pole on Tuesday chaired a weekly review meeting on Covid-19 pandemic here and urged for dedicated ambulance service for patients and directed the health authorities to increase bed capacity in all hospitals besides manpower, equipment and consumables.

Active cases in the UT stand at 4,755 after 128 more patients recovered on Tuesday. A government spokesperson said 28 people were discharged in Jammu division and 100 in Kashmir.

The number of people who have recovered since the first cases emerged on March 9 has reached 6,223, taking the recovery rate to 55.69%. In the past week, the recovery rate has also gone down below 60 percent.

Of the total recoveries, 4,669 were cured in Kashmir while 1,554 in Jammu division.

In Kashmir, the highest jump in cases was witnessed in Srinagar district where 127 more people tested positive, followed by Anantnag (58) and Pulwama (39). In Jammu division, the highest number of 14 cases was reported in Doda district, followed by 11 in Jammu district.

Till date, 3.17 lakh people have been enlisted for observation — 38,211 in home quarantine, 4,755 in hospital isolation, 24 in hospital quarantine and 45,537 under home surveillance. Besides these, 2.29 lakh people have completed their 28-day surveillance period.

The highest daily tally of positive cases was recorded on June 7 with 620 cases and two deaths.